this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2023
482 points (90.2% liked)

Technology

59193 readers
2579 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
L3s
[email protected]
[email protected]
L4s
enu
482
Teslas are bursting into flames in Florida after being flooded during Hurricane Idalia | Saltwater and lithium-ion batteries are a bad combination (www.techspot.com)
submitted 1 year ago by L4s to c/technology
69 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Teslas are bursting into flames in Florida after being flooded during Hurricane Idalia | Saltwater and lithium-ion batteries are a bad combination::undefined

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] PaulDevonUK 10 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I was under the impression that battery packs are watertight so where is the fire starting?

[–] Know_not_Scotty_does 21 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They are likely IP rated in some form or fashion, that means they are rated for protection for a period of time at a certain depth. Deeper water or longer time in water means you still get water past the seals.

It could also be a control fault or short on the electrical side allowing the other components to catch fire or overloading the batteries causing them to overheat and catch fire.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Also, IP rating is not valid for salt water or any other fluids such as alcohol, only fresh water

[–] fuckwit_mcbumcrumble 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I doubt their designs are hurricane + flood proofed.

Also the high voltage disconnect/fuse is under the seats. Flood that and you've got a problem.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago

I truly doubt anybody at Tesla thinks that far ahead. A prime example of this was that magnificent cyber truck showcase.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If manufactured properly, they should be.

Water ingress can happen where cables plug into places - literally like a straw that draws water towards the battery pack. Again, if properly sealed, this should not be an issue.

But I can't imagine any modern vehicle surviving being flooded by saltwater. If not the battery then any other electrical component, or even the motor, would corrode over the coming days, weeks, months.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If previous incidents are anything to go by, most batteries that actually react that way are physically damaged during the Hurricane part. Usually the teslas are fine even completely submerged.

https://youtu.be/SUNw8-rHHV4

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/SUNw8-rHHV4

Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.

I'm open-source, check me out at GitHub.